Aaron Ramsdale: Hardly tested on the night, but had to be stronger on the corner that Villa scored from. Yes, Watkins was physical, but the England 'keeper could have done more. 6.
Ben White: Solid again at right back defensively, particularly in the first half. Got forward a lot, although that left Saliba slightly exposed against Watkins. 7.
William Saliba: Good in the first half but struggled a bit in the second half when dealing with Watkins. An unnecessary booking and then got too tight to the England international on a few occasions. 6.
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Gabriel: Very solid throughout the game and showed some of his passing range, too, when coming out from defence. Aerially dominant too. 7.
Kieran Tierney: He was solid enough on the night. He asked to do the infield Zinchenko-type role less often and looked more comfortable with that. 7.
Albert Sambi Lokonga: He did better than Elneny in the deeper role because he allowed himself to play the ball forward far more often. Helped that he had Xhaka alongside him rather than being left as a lone six. 7.
Granit Xhaka: Despite being primarily asked to sit back alongside Lokonga, Xhaka did get forward on occasion to good effect and was key to the Jesus goal. 7.
Martin Odegaard: Was influential in what Arsenal did going forward yet again and could have had a goal were it not for some good goalkeeping by Martinez. The way he appeared to grimace as he walked off will be a worry ahead of United. 7.
Bukayo Saka: Villa tried to kick him off the park, but Saka was having none of it and caused real problems with his close dribbling. He popped up with a crucial assist for Martinelli's goal too. 8.
Gabriel Jesus: Was crucial in buzzing about the place up front, pressing hard and causing plenty of confusion in the Villa backline. He popped up with another goal too. 8.
Gabriel Martinelli: He responded in the best possible way to the team going behind with a crucial goal. He was unlucky not to have a screamer in the first half. Caused Cash plenty of problems down the left. 8.
Substitutes -
Takehiro Tomiyasu: Almost instantly shut down the Watkins long ball threat with his ability in the air. The Japan international is an excellent asset off the bench because of how good he is defensively. 7.
Emile Smith Rowe: He came on too late to influence the game. n/a.
Eddie Nketiah: Came on too late to influence the game. n/a.
Rob Holding: Came on too late to influence the game. n/a.
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